Bitter Medicine
by banryuu
Summary: Van Fanel has always known exactly who he was and what was expected of him. Even the destruction of his country couldn't change that destiny. Now that peace has returned is the adventure over? Hitomi Kanzaki is a not so normal high school student since she found herself immersed in a war-torn world she'd never dreamed of. Finding love once might mean saving it again.
1. I don't know anything

**Hello there and welcome to the first chapter of Bitter Medicine. This is an old idea I got the summer of 2017. I was driving a lot between work stations and where my family was. While on the road for hours at a time I got this idea, spawned by a New Found Glory song I listened to. I wrote the first chapter and plotted the basis of the story but kind of put it in story limbo as other ideas took over my mind. As I finished up Broken Promises the idea came back and I decided to give it another chance at life. So here we go I hope you enjoy it and stay tuned for more, it will really pick up in pace after the first couple chapters.**

 **Bitter Medicine**

 **Chapter 1- I don't know anything.**

I'm drowning, or at least I think I am. Cold darkness pressing in from all sides, pulling me down, deeper and deeper until the surface is a distant impossible thing. Why should I fight it? Is anything really waiting for me? Would anyone even notice my loss?

Deep down I feel that is wrong, my disappearance will be noted, and death grieved. Though I don't know by whom. Breathing is the only thing keeping me anchored in this life. That has to count for something right?

It's not water I'm sinking farther into, but something is wrong. My body is heavy and sluggish. Struggling seems useless as the light and sounds from the surface fade more each second that passes in this bleak place.

Nothing is right. I'm stronger than this, or is it all too much?

My grip is slipping fast. Why don't I just give in? Those once steady breaths now become weaker and more irregular. Numbness consumes my consciousness, like parchment in a hungry flame. Up is down. Right is left. Black is white. Light is dark.

The distant hum of voices and strange noises is almost gone now. Peace sets in as I sink father into these unknown depths.

A bright flash of pink light fills the darkness, searing my tired eyes. Just let me go.

Pounding steps and quick breathing, like that of someone running, break the impossible silence. It's not me. I barely inhale now. A voice calls into the darkness, but it's jumbled in my nearly deaf ears. They call a name into the black void. It feels important. I try to make sense of it, pain blooms behind my eyes and I want to sink back into the nothingness trying to consume me.

The voice is more frantic now, tears in each call. A viselike tightness takes hold of my heart. Easing their pain is worth suffering through my own. Somehow with strength I didn't know I had, I fight upwards. A new sharpness stabs like a knife in my side, but sluggishly I push back. Light overhead is now brighter, the clamber of noises louder.

Running in the darkness, they feel so close. I reach for her and green eyes filled with relief, almost stop time itself, but then she is gone.

Their loss is a new or old ache I don't know. I bolt upright breaking through the surface. Bright, burning white light fills my vision. Hands on my arms and legs, try uselessly to still my thrashing. The noises pound through my throbbing head. Shouting voices and shrill beeping fill my ears.

"It's okay."

"Hold him down."

"We have to stop the bleeding."

"You are safe now."

"He's pulling out the lines!"

The one calm voice tries to sooth my fighting with words not strength. Blurred movement clears in my vision, and I can see a group of people in solid colored, loose fitting clothing. Working on or around me, but with all the hectic actions one woman remains by my side. I focus on that attentive face, and the rest begins to clear.

"Hello there." Her voice is low and even, soothing. "We've got you now. Can you tell me your name?"

My throat burns as I try to talk. I hurt everywhere, but the worst part is the void where my mind resides. I don't know. I don't know my name. A complete blank exists as I try to pull on something, and fail. How is that possible?

A painful pounding at the back of my head thrums with the beat of my heart, and I reach there to feel the wound. Strong hands grasp mine without force, guiding my searching fingers back to the flat mattress.

"It's okay." The woman shows a small smile, trying to reassure me. "You have a pretty solid concussion, so it's normal to experience some memory loss. It should all come back as the swelling recedes."

Some of her words are foreign to me, but I understand one thing. Normal. She's not surprised, so I shouldn't be worried, right?

I'm calmer so the movement around me isn't nearly as frantic. The others move as a unit, wrapping bandages, checking strange boxes with illuminated numbers, hanging clear bags filled with fluid.

"W-what happened?" My throat is raw and sounds strangely rough. I don't know my name, how old I am, where I am from, or how I got hurt. Somehow, I do know what the sound of my own voice should be. I understand words, and emotions, but everything having to do with my past is a complete blank.

Something flickers in the woman's eyes that I can't read. "We don't know." Before I can try to speak again, she adds quickly. "You were found outside the Emergency room doors. Some people say there was a bright light right before you appeared, but it could have just been headlights from a car before it sped away. You have several broken ribs, your right shoulder was dislocated, a stab wound to your left leg reopened the artery when you woke up, and the head trauma."

"Accident or attack?" I ask knowing that with the long list of injuries the first option is unlikely.

She shakes her head slowly. "We don't know, but I can tell you if you hadn't received medical treatment… well it's a miracle regardless." Patting my hand one last time she stands from a crouch that kept her near eye level. She reminds me of someone, but I have no idea who. "Don't worry we will take good care of you."

I watch her as she holds a quiet conversation with the others. Could this woman remind me of a family member, friend, or lover? The last seems impossible, though I seem to trust her over the other nameless faces that surround me, there is no attraction. Somehow my heart belongs to another, possibly a green-eyed girl, though unlikely.

I'm poked, prodded, wrapped, evaluated, and after what seems like forever without actual answers I am taken to a pale walled room as blank as my memories. This will be where I must stay until they medically clear or someone claims me.

I hate this. I know that at least. I don't do well with the silence or restrictions. Being hurt makes me feel weak, and I refuse to be seen as pitiable. Something churns, a memory maybe. It feels so real; blood dripping into my eyes, cuts stinging red hot pain all over my weary body, the struggling steps forward, followed by pain ripping apart my back. Then nothing, darkness, could that have been what happened to me today? No, it feels older this strange painful memory.

Then I've been hurt badly before. Maybe I should rethink my life choices, before I end up dead. Musing over how I've been hurt doesn't seem to be helping me remember my name, but anything is better than the blank blackness of my mind.

Another round of checks passes, and after a caretaker, or healer maybe, presses something on one of the strange boxes, my head begins to feel as though it were both heavy and floating at the same time. I wake some time later to darkness and soft murmurs.

Two people stand outside my door talking in hushed voices, but I can still make out a bit of the conversation.

"-two teens arrived unconscious this morning."

"Runaways? Or lovers?"

"Don't be so dramatic. They weren't together. The girl passed out while running during physical education class. She swears it's just anemia, but her parents insist on a full work up. They say it's happened before."

"What about the other?"

"A boy around the same age was left bleeding and broken right in front of the ER doors. He can't seem to remember his name or anything, and no one saw how he got there."

I know they are talking about me, but I wish they had new information. Still not being the only topic of gossip makes me feel better, if only slightly. It gives me something else to think about, other than the mystery surrounding everything I can't remember.

Absently my hand goes to the bandages at my chest and finding something missing my heart begins to pound erratically. I don't know what is gone, but it's loss starts a panic. I have to find it! If I lose it I might as well have lost her forever. Green eyes come to mind, but nothing else.

I've started to climb from the strange bed. Ripping roughly at translucent strings attached under my bruised skin. With a sharp stinging, I pull one attached to the back of my hand, blood wells from the spot as I toss it all aside. Everything hurts, but not nearly as bad as the panic

The women who chattered like old ninnies' earlier rush into the room trying to urge me back into bed.

"It's gone!" I gasp, and fight strike out like a wild animal. "It can't be gone!"

One of the caretakers, nurses, others have called them, presses a square on the wall speaking into it. Requesting something called orderlies. The other tries to calm me like the woman this morning, but she has little effect.

"What is gone?" She asks trying to be helpful, but it just makes my throat tighter.

"I don't know!" I growl angrily. Rage filled at her uselessness, at my own inability to remember, and at the weakness dragging at my limbs. I thump my chest hard enough to send more pain shooting through the bound ribs. "It should be here, but it's gone!"

The other nurse who had been calling for help gasps audibly. "Your necklace?" Without waiting for a response, she goes to a small box built into the far wall. Pressing a few things there is a beep, followed by a tiny door swinging open. Removing a small clear wrapped item, she hurries back just as two large men enter the room. "Is this it?"

In her hand is a pink stoned pendent on a thin gold chain. Instantly the fight drains out and I am left tired and hurting. While I was battling none of it registered, but now my abused body protests, and I let the men move me back into the bed complacently. "Please," I beg weakly. "I can't lose it. That is all I have left of her."

"It's protocol to place all valuables and personal effects in the safe." She wavers looking into my eyes. With a sigh, she tore the protective sheet around the jewelry. "If something happens to it…"

"It is my responsibility." I respond quickly sitting up straighter then my cracked ribs appreciate.

Without another word, she dropped the stone into my wavering, yet outstretched hand. Instantly I felt the tightly coiled anxiety in my chest relax. "Thank you."

They go about sticking a new needle in my other hand, bandaging the self-inflicted injury, and cleaning up the mess I made during my panic attack. Calmly I clasped the thin chain with fumbling fingers, but it was something I could manage on my own.

Before the group returns to their duties the woman who gave back my pendent pauses thoughtfully. "If you don't mind my asking have you started to remember? Do you know your name?"

I shake my head wishing it wasn't the truth. "I've gotten a few things. Like I remember being hurt before, I'm not sure when, maybe last year. I knew something important was missing, but not what." At that I touch the unusual pink stone resting on my bandaged and aching chest.

"You said something that made it seem like you might be getting closer to remembering." She said evenly watching for my reaction.

"No, what was it?" Did they think I was faking memory loss, as if I was running from something terrible?

"When I held your necklace you said, 'I can't lose it. It is all I have left of her.' Do you remember who gave you that necklace? It may be a key to helping your memory come back quicker." I can't remember what or who I was thinking about, but she may be right. The sudden emotions I felt when realizing that the comforting weight was missing triggered a very quick response.

"Sorry." I mumble, as crest fallen as the nurse that I can't remember more. Not of who I was before this morning, or of the person who obviously meant so much to me.

"Don't try so hard." That shocks me slightly. I thought the sooner I regained my memory the better. "We want it all to come back to you, but the mind is a complicated thing. You can't force something like this. The damage will take time to heal both physically and mentally. Trying to force things will only make matters worse. Even the little bits you've already started to regain are very impressive. I know it doesn't seem that way now, but it will get better."

I wanted to believe in her optimism, but it seems like a few drops of water in an ocean. Before leaving she offered to turn up something called morphine, to ease my pain and help me sleep, but I declined. If that is what they did last time I'd rather my mind not have anything else to complicate things. I hope sleep comes naturally then maybe dreams, memories will too.

They also offered to turn on something called T V, which I also turned down. Mainly because I had no idea what it was and it seemed odd to ask. Instead I turned my pounding bandaged head towards the large window that took up most of one wall. The one moon in the sky shone brightly, but it seemed so wrong to me. Were these the same stars I watched by campfire? I can almost feel the long grass tickling my neck, as I lay back on the forest floor. A torn pink dress, long athletic legs, and strange footwear; as her voice told of a world I could never imagine. An alien planet, one where she still had a loving living family waiting for her.

With a sharp pain not in my head, but in my heart, I remembered more about the girl. Her name and mine still were stuck in the void of my injured mind. I fell asleep not thinking about the short length of her dress, but how her voice sounded calling my name in warning, anger, confusion, worry, and love. It was right there, but just like her, impossible to reach.

I woke to morning light no closer to knowing my name or past than when I fell asleep. The new day brought no extra revelations, other than dampness on the collar of the gown I was forced to wear. It seems I was crying in my sleep, but don't remember what could have caused that emotion. This is just a frustrating repeat of every moment since waking here, injured and a complete blank.

I may not know who I am, but my thoughts are clear and focused. Cataloging my injuries and contemplating my next move, absently I watch the long shadows thrown across the glossy floor. The strange vertical window hangings make it look almost like watching from inside prison bars.

How do I know that? What kind of person was I? Is it possible that I am some sort of criminal, with knowledge of being incarcerated?

If you add that new bit of information to what I know of this bad habit of mine to get severely injured, well maybe it would be better not to remember. This could be a blessing in disguise. A real chance for me to start a new, less complicated life.

The nurses seem busy this morning, so I watch them scurry purposely back and forth. A middle-aged woman with light brown hair pulled tightly away from her face with some sort of head band, tried to politely get someone's attention. Her forehead is lined with worry, but her eyes appear kind.

"Excuse me." She starts finally able to get someone's attention. "I'm here to visit Kanzaki in room 311, but she isn't there."

"Relation?" The nurse asks absently.

"She's my daughter." The woman states evenly, though I can tell the rudeness bothers her.

"Kanzaki," Repeating the name slowly while doing something behind the desk that makes a light clicking sound as her hands move with a singular goal. "Ma'am you can wait in her room, she should be done with the cardio stress test shortly."

"How many more tests are scheduled?" The worried mother asks expectantly.

"Let me check." A few moments pass in silence aside from the faint tapping. "That should be the last one. Once the results are back a doctor will be in to see you. If everything is negative your daughter will be discharged sometime this morning." The other possibility hangs in the air heavily. If something is wrong she will have to stay longer, like me.

With thanks and a bow, the woman disappears into the room next to mine. It's easy to deduce that my neighbor is the only other person here around my age that mysteriously passes out.

I wonder about her circumstances, surely she woke knowing her past. Somehow, I think this girl is very lucky, despite the slight similarities to our situation, it might have to do with the loving mother worried and waiting in the other room.

Why do I feel as though I wouldn't have that, even if I hadn't lost who I was before yesterday? Maybe the reason no one has come for me is that there isn't a soul out there that cares. The thought feels wrong, someone must love me, miss my presence, right?

If there a person out there worried by my disappearance? How can they find me if they don't know where to look?

Steps and chatter echo down the hall growing louder as they near. This is assuming that the girl next door is returning from some sort of test, I am curious about her. Honestly, there isn't much else of interest for me other than people watching, and the various workers repetitive motions don't entertain me for long.

Listening attentively, most of the talking comes from the nurse. "I've sure you'll be able to go home soon." The woman chatted busily. "That looked more like an Olympic tryout, not a stress test. If I were the betting kind, I'd place all my money on your heart being just fine."

"You're too kind." A younger voice responded, and somehow, I knew it. The sharpness of that familiarity taking my breath away. It's the running girl I dreamt of. If anyone knows who I am it's her, right? But what do I say? Hello, I don't know who I am, or who you are, can you tell me? "I'm not that good, running just helps clear my head." Her voice seems shy and I can almost imagine a slight flush to her cheeks, even though I can't remember what she actually looks like beyond the bright jewel green of her eyes.

They've come closer and I'm frozen in place. What if I'm mistaken and she doesn't know me? What if I just bring the danger to her, after all whoever hurt me is still out there, right?

I feel brittle as thin ice, ready to shatter under any pressure. Despite my thoughts to leave her out of whatever mess I am wrapped up in, my eyes are still steadily watching the door. She'll have to pass by, any second.

First, I see feet wearing plain slippers. Followed by long slender runner's legs. She was sitting in one of the wheeled-chairs being pushed by the chatty nurse. As much as a normal guy would have continued to scan up her fit body, but her chest came into view the same time her face did and that was all that really mattered.

I can't breathe, stunned by the familiarity of her eyes. The same gemstone colored ones that convinced me not to sink into the darkness, saved my life. The girl hasn't seen me yet, and I've not figured out what to say if anything.

My hand goes to the pendent on my chest on reflex, the moment skin contacts the smooth stone. Something strange happens, a pulse of light flared, quick as a passing thought. It only took a second, most people wouldn't have noticed it, but the girl's head snapped in my direction as if I called her name. With a sharp gasp, she is out of that chair and flying across the room.

Arms wrap around my neck, her warm form pressed into me, and the pounding of our hearts seem to be beating in unison. What shocks me the most aside from the sudden embrace is the breathy voice in my ear.

"Van, I can't believe you are here." She pulled back finally, realizing where we are, and what condition I'm in. "Oh god, what happened."

"I don't know." My head throbs painfully, but flashes of images and emotions speed through my mind. Still I can't remember anything solid, well almost nothing. "I was hoping you could tell me, Hitomi."

 **To Be Continued…**

 **A/N- Well I hope you liked it. I didn't want to mention which song inspired this incase you knew what it was about. It's called Listen to my Friends, it's about a guy that wakes up in an ER not knowing what happened to him, but pieces together that his friends warned him about a girl and they were right.**

 **Anyways I know it seems a little disjointed, but that's the point. Van's lost his memories and is running mainly on emotions and actions. He's had a hard reset to his mind and we will see him piece things together as it goes along. This story takes place between six to eight months after the end of the war and Hitomi was sent home. Depending vastly on how long Hitomi was on Gaia. I like to believe that the series started shortly after April when Van would have turned 15 and come of age. In this story I have her returning in fall and that the time difference has been canceled out by the connection they maintain over the distance.**

 **So now they are a little older, but this is a sweeter more innocent story they my last one. I hope you stay tuned and give this one a chance even with it being more PG. Please Review and let me know what you think.**


	2. Just out of Reach

**Bitter Medicine**

 **Warning only self-edited.**

 **Chapter 2- Just out of Reach.**

This is impossible, isn't it? Van is here on earth, looking at me with those deep mahogany eyes. Ones I see only in my dreams. Too warm and molten to be considered something as boring as brown. His words sink in and the pieces just don't match. How can he not know why he's here? What happened to the king of Fanelia that would put him in a Japanese hospital bandaged and broken like this?

Then I remember yesterday. At first everything was normal. I was running in practice after school when I felt my heart begin to race in a way that had nothing to do with the activity. It was almost like I could taste fear in my mouth, as though something terrible was coming for me.

The only time I felt that level of terror was while standing on the edge of a lake, with the moon and earth hanging together in the blue midday sky. Van trapped, surrounded by Zaibach Guymelifs, and a wild shot of deadly silver liquid metal heading right for me. The screaming panic that froze me in place, before Allen took the damage instead.

This time there wasn't a visible reason for the feeling, but I felt my knees go weak and vision fade to darkness. Surrounded by nothing, a black void, yet I continued to run. There wasn't a ground or sky, just a deep nothingness everywhere. Still I kept trying to move forward, getting nowhere.

Then something red fell in the distance, as though sinking slowly through black water. It almost looked like a person, and Van was all I could think about. The bright color of his shirt the only thing that distinguished him from the rest of the nothingness, and I knew I was right.

Pushing harder, trying with all my heart to reach him before he fell out of sight, because somehow when he was gone it would be too late. This wasn't a theory, but fact that I could feel in my very core. A bright pink light flared in the darkness, my pendant, the one I left with a boy who I loved. I can see him clearer now, the wild black hair almost indistinguishable for the nothingness around us. His lanky form still falling, tan pants stained red in places nearly the color of his iconic shirt.

"Van!" I call, fighting to run harder, get closer. I can see he's hurt and losing the fight with consciousness. I can't let him give up. "Van!"

I yell until my throat feels raw and tears drip hotly down my face. Still I can't reach him, but somehow the distance doesn't seem to matter as much. His eyes which were unfocused before are drawn towards my voice. Also, the boy doesn't seem to bee falling as fast, and a pale light above him was then visible. One gloved hand reached outward towards me through the darkness. I stretched for him but right before we could touch, I woke up.

My eyes open and staring upward at a strangely moving ceiling. Florescent lights overhead and sloping angled sterile white walls on either side. I was securely strapped onto a narrow bed, or I'd guess stretcher, because I assume this was the inside of an ambulance. It was my first time in one, but I vaguely remember what they looked like from the time one came to take Grandma Yuri away. The last time I'd seen her alive, after all the stroke was quite sudden.

That's how I got to the hospital. Normally I would have just gone to the nurse's office, like the other times I fainted, but this was a repeat offence without noticeable cause. It didn't help that I was unresponsive for a while. The biggest fear was that either I'd hit my head, or it was a problem with my heart.

It's not like I could just tell them I wasn't the one who needed help. Or would anyone believe it was another vision. I had those from time to time, less often since returning home, but still there.

The doctors ran tests, without anything really wrong with me. Sure, I worried about Van and whether what I saw could be prevented or if it had already happened. If I could get out of here, then maybe there was still something I could do. Now I see it was too late.

As if there was a string around my heart and it gave a sharp tug, pulling me towards him. All that really mattered now was the solid feel of his body against mine, the realness of not being a dream. He was hurt, but still alive thank god.

It took me a minute to break eye contact with the young king. The nurses, both mine and his were talking to me, but I hadn't really heard. One urging me to return to my room I guess, but the other was asking questions about Van. She was the one I focused on now.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" I realized that it might look odd for me to continue hugging another patient. Letting him go I step away my face feeling burning hot.

"Miss, do you know this patient?" His nurse asked with a hopeful look in her eyes. Van's words seemed to sink in then. He didn't know what happened to him, but it seemed so impossible that the stubborn fighter wouldn't even remember his own name.

"Yes, his name is Fanel, Van Fanel." There wasn't a glimmer of recognition in the eyes of the bandaged boy. "He turned sixteen as of April and doesn't have any family. So, I'd be his only emergency contact."

I watch as she writes out the information, seeing his name in katagana for the first time was almost as strange as the rest of this. With a quick glance back up at me she asks, "And your relationship with Mr. Fanel?"

Some how my face flushes deeper when I hadn't thought it possible. "I'm his girlfriend, Hitomi Kanzaki."

I know I'd have to answer more questions, but if that means I'm able to be here at his side, none of it mattered. Sure, we hadn't really defined our relationship in words, just feelings, but it's not something I could really explain to them.

Why then did I find myself filling out paperwork, and making up a story about long distance? They all seemed to believe it when I said he must have come on a surprise visit, from Korea. The shocking part was when one of the nurses addressed Van in Korean, which I had lied was his native language. What was more surprising was that he responded back in rapid words I didn't understand but knew wasn't Fanelian.

Was it the work of the pendent that he could respond to any language spoken to him or was that just the work of royal tutors and draconian blood?

Last night someone had been yelling from this room and I gathered that it was Van. So, without the pendant he was still able to speak and understand Japanese, in that case it could be him, or our native tongues were just that similar. Then again while I wore the necklace, I could read ancient characters that told the story of Atlantis and it's fall. So maybe the stone had something to do with Van's new skill after all.

While I was taking care of the details for my forgetful friend, I could feel my mother's eyes on me. As though my face would tell the story without words, and maybe it would. Still she needed an explanation. I'd have to get her help for the next part after all.

Finishing up I went back to my own room, even though what I really wanted was to go back to Van's side.

"So, this boyfriend of yours, has he traveled a long way to be here?" Mother's voice held a knowledge that Van was from a bit farther away then Korea.

Still my face flushed all over again. "Yes, that is Van." I'd told my family about bits of my adventures on Gaia, not the scariest parts of course. Mother and Yukari were really the only ones that believed me. Everyone else called it a girlish fantasy, well that was the ones being on the nicer side. "I don't know what happened to him, but even if he could go back like this, I don't think he should. He's saved me so many times, so I really think I need to be here for him through everything."

Again, she understood even what I wasn't saying. "With memory loss who knows what happened, or who is waiting for him on the other side."

"Exactly!" I relaxed a little that we were on the same page there. Still I hesitated to ask the rest, it was a huge thing after all. "He only seems to remember me right now."

"And you want to take him home with us until he is better and can go back on his own." It wasn't a question only a statement of fact.

"Yes, the problem is I can go home today, but he's really hurt." Thinking about Van's injuries made something painful stab in my chest.

"Then we find out when he is being released and come back." There was something I couldn't read in the stubborn purse of her lips. Did my mother think she owed this to Van, or was it something else?

As it turned out as long as the wild-haired boy remained calm and didn't pull any stiches they only wanted to keep him for observation one more day. So, I changed into the clothes mother brought me from home, checked out as a patient, and returned to Van's room as a visitor.

At first, he was just quietly watching me. I didn't want to overload his injured brain with information before he was ready, but it still took a lot of restraint on my part to not blurt everything out. A good distraction was my school books since I missed today's classes and break started tomorrow. I'd already gotten some of my summer assignments, and Yukari would probably bring me the rest after classes let out officially.

"Are you a student?" Van's voice from the bed almost started me.

"Yes, I'm a second year now." His bandaged head tilted as if not quite understanding the term but didn't really want to say anything about it. I hoped I didn't have to explain since public school on another planet wasn't relatable for him under normal circumstances. "I have another year and a half still left."

"Am I a student?" He asked innocently.

"No," I shook my head. What did I say now? You're a king of a small agriculture-based country, but you don't have time for studies since you must deal with dragons and other countries politics. "You had tutors in the past though."

That seemed to be an acceptable answer because he nodded slightly and went silent again. Most of the time it was like that between us. Van was never much of a talker when it came to himself. Sure, he could be outspoken, but that had more to do with getting his point across to others than anything else. I did my best to answer truthfully hoping something would spark his vacant memory, but nothing seemed to, and I didn't want to push things too far too fast. After all he'd been hurt just yesterday, and people all healed differently.

I was reluctant to leave, when visiting hours were over, and mother had come back to get me. Packing my books slowly I tried not to look at Van, though I could feel his eyes on me like the brush of a warm caress.

"Get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow." Before I could take another step a hand with callouses from continual training gripped my wrist. His touch was firm, but not rough, and he looked as though the act was unconsciously done.

"You always seem to be the one leaving me." There was something sure, yet sad in his voice that pulled at my heart. It seemed as if he'd remembered more on his own, but I didn't want to force things by confronting it directly.

I moved so that our fingers could intertwine, the first time we've held hands without our lives in danger. It felt nice to be a little bit closer to him without a reason other than I wanted to. "I always come back though." For some reason I wasn't embarrassed or nervous, just warm all over. "If love had been enough, I would never have left, but we both still have a lot of growing up to do. I'll come back for you as long as it's still what you want." I was partly talking about here and now, but also the future. I was always going to return to him, but I needed to finish my life here before the one there could really start.

He nodded again, and released my hand, if a little reluctantly. I went home with the lingering feel of his touch still on my skin. It was strange to see Van without his normal leather gloves, but this way seemed so much more personal, skin to skin even if it was just our hands. Maybe living with him wasn't such a good idea after all.

Yukari had dropped my remaining summer assignments off while I was still at the hospital, and I was grateful not to have her questions poking into everything quite yet. She's my best friend, but for a little bit I want to let things happen naturally without putting too much thought into this strange situation.

I ate a quiet dinner of leftovers alone, as mother needed to take a late shift at work these days. Since Father left us work seemed to be one of the only things that helped keep her from falling apart completely. It hurt worse because their split was entirely my fault. One parent believed my story of another planet beyond the moon while the other didn't. I'd disappeared for months after all, missed school, and came back with crazy stories. It drove a wedge in their already strained marriage. My little brother was too young to understand what was happening but chose to leave with father, who he idolized.

After cleaning up my dishes I knew the best thing to do now was to keep busy. So, I went into Mamoru's vacant room with the goal of making it livable. Changing sheets, clearing away dust, and vacuuming the floor kept me occupied for a little while. It felt odd that Van would be staying with us, but in a way not unexpected given the situation.

From the moment I met the hard-headed boy we'd been together one way or another, until I returned home that is. Now the tables had turned, and he was the one stuck on an alien planet with no one else to rely on. He had me though, and it was with that thought I fell asleep.

My dreams were not peaceful. Full of flickering images strangely distorted and seemingly out of order. A clear blue sky in the rebuilt Fanelia, Crumbling Zaibach with greenish fog filled streets. The peaceful white marble cemetery surrounded by protective trees. Screams and crashes in a dimly lit laboratory. Calm determination changing into confused rage. Strength and weakness. Happiness, then blood and pain.

I woke in a cold sweat trying to piece it all together. Was this a bit of Van's lost memories bleeding over to me? I hoped not, but somehow knew it was. I wanted to know more yet feared sinking too deep into the darkness hidden there. This wasn't everything, like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle with the center parts still missing.

Unable to go back to sleep I got up and washed quietly not wanting to wake mom who'd come in from work after I'd already turned in. I saw how hard it was for her to start over, but she kept a calm attitude and would get mad at me if I tried to take the blame for the rift in our family. If I hadn't come back would they have fought so much? Would father still choose to leave?

Before everything I didn't even know how to make a bento or do my own laundry, but now I did my best to help out. So, I made breakfast and tried to think not about the sad things. There seemed to be more of them these days. Still I had Van to think about now and helping him get better came first.

I didn't want to let my mind wander to what would happen when his memory returned, and he went back to his own world. Fanelia always came first, and I understood that. I always knew it, but something fluttered wildly in my stomach to this that I was the first thing he remembered. Like I'd swallowed a tiny bird, it was hope.

Trying to distract myself I made dishes for lunch to be served after the boy was discharged. When I'd finally finished cleaning up mother came in and sat down to eat the breakfast, I'd set aside for her. She looked tired but cheerful.

"Is everything ready?" I knew she was asking about Mamoru's room without bringing up the son living across town.

"Yes, finished that yesterday before bed." I nodded slightly but turned away to focus on rearranging things in the refrigerator, even though it didn't really need it.

"Good girl." She said simply and returned to eating silently. The trip to the hospital was just as quiet and subdued. I knew that my parents had argued again after I was discharged yesterday morning. Father insisted that there must be a medical reason that I keep passing out, and saying it was from strong visions was not an acceptable answer. He was one of those people that believe firmly in only what he can see and feel. He never believed grandmother Yuri ever had an adventure that didn't happen in an overactive imagination.

While mother went to see what paperwork was needed to take custody of the misplaced king, I went right in to see him. Van was sitting upright though it had to hurt with cracked ribs, he never let the slightest discomfort show.

"You came back." There was a slight hitch to his voice that made me think that he hadn't entirely believed that I would return.

"Of course," I sighed setting the small bag I'd brought on the chair I used most of my last visit. His dark eyes moved to it automatically. "Thought you might want to wear some real clothes out of here. Sorry, but I had to guess the right size."

Mother was better at this sort of thing, so we stopped on our way here to find something Van could wear. The outfit he was transported in had been cut up and covered in blood, probably under a whole day's worth of garbage in the dumpster out back. Still I tried my best to find a serviceable replacement along with a few pairs of pajamas. The later was more likely to be wore while he recovered.

"Thanks," he muttered, and even I could see the color heating his neck and ears. We both seemed quite aware that a hospital gown was all he was wearing.

Mother and a nurse walked in at that moment. "Well Mr. Fanel it looks like you are all set to go. Ms. Kanzaki has a copy of instructions for medicine and dressing changes. You should return in ten days to have your stitches removed. Until then rest is the best thing you can do."

Some how I doubted Van would submit to coming back under any circumstance. This was the best place for him to land when he was injured, but the stubborn teen would be gone the moment his memory came back, stiches in his leg in all. Luckily, they had a male help him change, but that wouldn't always be the case. Mother had already made it clear that his care was my responsibility alone.

Other then resisting the wheelchair initially, the trip to the car was uneventful. As was the ride home. I know the vehicle was strange and worrisome to Van, but he just kept his eyes closed the whole drive. Part of it was he didn't want to admit not knowing what things were, but I thought his head would be splitting with pain from watching scenery blur past the window.

I hadn't gotten the chance to tell the lanky boy much about himself, or the world he came from. The fact is everything seemed strange and unrecognizable to him was normal, but he didn't know that. Part of me wanted to see his real reaction to new things here, instead he hid the questions and kept silent. This wasn't quite like the arrogant prince who first landed on my school track nor was he the battle worn king that I had fallen in love with. A Van without memory was stuck somewhere in the middle and I am still not quite sure how to really help him.

We arrived at home and though the stubborn boy was still hurt, refused to use the crutches provided by the hospital. Instead he tried to walk unassisted. I could tell his leg and ribs both bothered him, so I slid under his right arm trying to support his weight. This put the long lean line of his body against mine, so close it was impossible not to notice how much taller he'd grown in the months since we said goodbye. His shoulders broader, muscles more defined, beyond the half-way point to the man he would become.

It took effort on both our parts to get him up the stairs and settled into Mamoru's room. The narrow bed never seemed so far away as when I had to pretend that my face wasn't burning from this prolonged contact. His naturally tanned complexion was pale with the strain of recent wounds, but still he didn't complain once.

Once the boy was settled into bed more of less comfortably. I went to make us some lunch. Just for us, since mother had already gone back to work. Most parents wouldn't trust two unrelated teens to keep their hands to themselves alone together, I know my father wouldn't. It was nice that I at least had one person to believe in me. There had been a time on Gaia where only people I could depend on was the strange boy and our small odd group of friends. Now the tables had turned, Van was left with just me. I understood how it felt to be in his place, at least partly.

We ate our meal in silence, much like our time spent together yesterday. It wasn't until I went to take the dishes back down stairs that Van spoke.

"Why are you helping me like this?" His eyes weren't on me, but the patterned bedspread covering his lap.

"How much do you remember?" I returned his question with my own. Part of me wanted to just blurt out everything, but still I hesitated not wanting to push him too far.

He thought for a moment and I could see from the way his brows furrowed that he was trying to gather the thoughts like fish in a stream, easily slipping through his fingers.

"You mostly." The two words made my cheeks flush instantly, I felt better once I noticed that his neck and ears went a bit red too. "Your eyes and the way you've said my name were the first things really. Then I remembered being hurt, but not how. I recall what it looks like from the inside of a prison cell, even without knowing why. When I thought this necklace was gone it drove me mad." At the last statement Van touched the pendent almost reverently.

That was more then I expected really and the bits and pieces coming back already were a good sign. Taking a deep breath, I sat on the edge of his bed trying not to jostle him but wanting to be on the same level for this conversation.

"I'll tell you what I know, but if it makes things worse, I'll stop." He opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again without speaking and just nodded once in agreement. "Your name is Van Salazar de Fanel, and you are not from Korea, but a small country called Fanelia. It's on Gaia, a planet just beyond the moon so that you can see this planet in the sky as well, but you call it the mystic moon. We met the day you killed a dragon as a final test to become king."

Van's calloused hand reached out gripping my wrist as if the contact would ground him in reality. "Fire and blood. A dull sword on armored flesh." He said the fragmented memories, pulling on my arm so that my open palm raised to his cheek. "You saved me."

"Yes." I confirmed the memory and the slap that followed, but the contact was almost a caress this time. After that I spoke of being transported together for the first time all the way through the war, until the day he removed the energist from Escaflowne and sent me home. The whole adventure was told with starts and stops along the way, then there were parts I didn't experience personally and did my best to fill in the blanks. Still it was nice to see him become more himself even a little.

It was hard to talk about my confused infatuation with Allen that led to that disastrous kiss in the rain, but Van deserved the whole truth, and he was part of that memory too.

"Did you love the knight?" The injured boy wouldn't meet my eyes, so I could tell some of the hurt from that time still remained deep down.

"No, I thought I did." It took a lot to admit it. "It was a silly crush only, and I didn't really know what love was back then. It took me a long time to realize that it was always you. By then I needed to go home, but the feelings I had then are still strong today."

He looked up and though I wanted to shy away from the intensity, there was something deeply powerful in the expression Van had now. "You love me?"

"I do." For some unknown reason I was no longer embarrassed. It was easy to admit this truth.

Now he was the first to look away. "I'm glad, because I love you too."

I wished that I could fit all the missing parts of his memory together, but the last eight months since I left were beyond me. Deep down I know that I could pull out my tarot cards with their painted faces and dig down into things I have no other way to see, but it was better that I didn't. When I returned from Gaia, I decided to leave my fortunetelling there where it belonged. Remembering wasn't really my job this time. Van needed to do it all on his own as part of the healing process. Still I wanted to help and protect him as much as possible.

After my story telling part of the day, he seemed tired, so I went down stairs to start preparing dinner. It did appear that what he needed most was to sort out his thoughts, it was something Van had to do alone. When I returned to the room it was to see his still back. He'd fallen asleep while I was gone.

Setting down the tray I carefully pulled the blankets up tucking his lean body under covers patterned with a baseball motif. Seeing him there looking so young almost took my breath away. When sleeping the worry and stress of things I could never understand didn't sit so heavy on him. Whatever happened to have put him here wasn't sitting on the back of his mind at the moment.

I was just so thankful that he ended up where help was nearby, and I could look after him. Brushing the black tendrils of wild hair away from his peaceful face. I was forcefully reminded me that Van had to grow up far too fast. We both did, but maybe for this short time while he's recovering, we could be normal. Like everyone else even if it was just for a short time.

So, I went back down stairs to find mother home. Giving her a brief update of my first day as nurse while reheating her portion of dinner. Over all it wasn't much of an improvement, but now even the little bits he had remembered was quite amazing. Everything points to this situation being temporary, and I intend on making the most of it.

I checked on Van a few more times before going to bed myself, but he hadn't even shifted. The last thought I had before falling asleep was about how best to spend this time together. Then the images began, faster then last night. I recognized some of the memories this time. Blood and battlefields, along with the feel of strength at my control. Inside the Escaflowne's pilot chamber anything can happen. There is a change, but not a sublet one. Kneeling on a roof under a clear blue sky, the rough shingles being hammered into place by the same hands the once gripped a sword like second nature.

This was the past, both the unstoppable fighter and the calm king just trying to rebuild his kingdom. Still something was missing, and a feeling of hopelessness overtook even the small peace that he'd been trying to make. The world shattered, and he was falling into darkness.

I awoke to the screaming. Not mine, but from the next room over, Van. Leaping from bed it felt like I was out the door before my feet even touched the carpet. Pushing my way into his room I slightly expected to see someone attacking the injured boy. Thrashing on the bed, eyes screwed shut in remembered pain and trauma.

"Van, what is it?" He continued to fight, and my eyes were drawn to the bandages wrapped around his wounds. If he kept like this up, they would reopen causing more damage. So, I tried to wake him. It didn't work, he jerked and thrashed harder. Something had calm him down, but my mind had gone completely blank.

Without thinking I climbed into the narrow bed next to him. At the contact he stilled. His hoarse screaming stopped as suddenly as it had started. This was all I could do. Hold him close and run my fingers through his thick hair.

"I'm here." I whispered, feeling his breath come out as quick exhausted pants against my collar bone. "It's okay, because I'm here for you. Always." It was the most natural thing in the world. Pressing a kiss to his forehead the tension seemed to melt away.

 **To Be Continued…**

 **A/N- Sorry this took so long. I moved, was transferred. It was quick and so here we are reporting to a new unit one that is supposed to get underway very soon. With or without pay. Because I'm Coast Guard. Here we are a month into a Government Shut down where they took steps to make sure the D.O.D was going to be covered, but forgot about the D.H.S. It's kind of stupid, really very much so. This is all over a wall half the country wants and the other half doesn't. Immigration is the big issue, and everyone who's job it is to monitor the problem are working without pay without a resolution in sight; I.C.E, Boarder Patrol, TSA, and Coast Guard. I'm okay because we had savings, but it still hurts. Not everyone is as lucky or prepared, so the longer this goes on the harder it is going to be on so many people.**

 **I really wanted to get this out to you because I didn't know how long it will take me to get more done. If I go on patrol, there won't be anything updated for who knows how long. I'll have spotty to no internet connection for months. Thank you everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I'll do what I can to keep up with writing, but no promises on if I'll be able to post. Heck I've gone months without an update before, but this time I have something other than my unpredictable muse to blame.**

 **This chapter still feels a little disjointed. Please stick with it I swear it will get better. A lot of you liked the idea and so much more is still to come. We see things from Hitomi's side here, but next chapter is back to Van. True to her personality we get more questions than answers with the girl. Please stay tuned. I can't wait to hear what you think!**


	3. A Little Bit More

**Thank you to all those that took the time to review. I haven't left yet and might have one more week at home at this rate. The goal is to keep churning out chapters while I can. I should get at least one more done of Not quite Normal, but who knows. My muse a fickle and hyperactive at times. This is not edited or reviewed by anyone other than me. So I do have to beg you to bear with the errors in exchange for faster posting.**

 **Bitter Medicine**

 **Chapter 3- A little bit more.**

It's not the sunlight streaming in through the window that wakes me up, but I come to all at once. I feel rested and peaceful for the first time I can remember, which isn't saying much. After all my memory is suspect at best these days. No, it's not even the unfamiliar room I'm in. Mostly it's the bed, well the fact that I am not alone in it.

On my chest rests a peacefully sleeping face framed by honey colored hair, long lashes stir only slightly against soft cheeks. One hand is curled under her chin while the other is not clutching my shirt as one would expect, but underneath the fabric and directly against my skin. It feels very intimate, also so right. Like I belong here, not on this world, because I was quite relieved to find out that I wasn't from this place. So, being confused about things others find normal was alright. No, here with Hitomi, or actually anywhere she is, that's where I belong.

I want to focus on that. It happens to be incredibly difficult because her hand over my heart is not the most personal contact I have to deal with. The long line of her athletic form is pressed against my body, and I can feel the way her firm breasts are only separated from the skin of my stomach by a thin shirt. Long runner's legs intertwined with mine, enforce the closeness. Most of all I'm afraid that feeling her like this, I won't be able to hide my growing interest and attraction that is noticeable against her belly.

If she wakes up now there is no way to hide how I feel about her. Not just the physical, but though I may not remember every moment we've shared in the past the emotions are there. They never left me even when the history that formed our bond did.

Everything I was told yesterday seems true enough, but it doesn't explain the missing pieces. That happened after I sent her home. Only I would know what happened to me, and that is so much easier to think about then how easy it would be to brush the soft flesh of her breast. Of all the things that I don't remember, what I do know is that I've never touched her like this. Simply dreamed of it.

Now I must remind myself that thinking about this is dangerous. We've never even kissed and yet the bond is so much stronger then basic attraction. She is here for me but asks for nothing in return. This isn't the first time. I'm sure it won't be the last.

She stirs, and I have to suppress a groan, the hand that was on my heart moves downward as the girl shifts. I nearly jump out of my skin as her bright eyes come open.

"Morning," Hitomi mumbles more than slightly embarrassed. She moved away putting space between us when the closeness of our bodies becomes too much. I'm just glad that my reaction to it has not been noticed, yet. "Sorry, you were aggravated, and I must have fallen asleep trying to calm you."

I turn my face away slightly not wanting her to see the thoughts written there. Part of me wants to say something and the other doesn't trust myself at all.

"I'll go start breakfast," The flush dusting her cheeks is very attractive, and I find I'm not embarrassed by the weakness she saw last night or the reaction I had to her this morning.

Without thinking about it my hand reaches out and pulls her back to me. "Thank you," I breathe into her short sleep mussed hair. Hitomi's arms came up as if on instinct and returned the embrace. After a few heartbeats she pulled away again, and this time I let her go.

When the girl returned later with a tray of food. Dressed for the day with her hair damp and eyes bright with something unsaid. I found out what is was after eating the meal she'd prepared. Though they'd cleaned me up at the hospital it was time for me to have my bandages changed, and if I was being entirely honest, I was beginning to smell.

As far as a bath went that would most likely wait until tonight, but I slept through my chance to be clean last night. Hitomi was determined to get all that taken care of now, herself. If I had stayed with the healers longer this wouldn't be an issue, they have people trained for this sort of care. Instead I had to figure out a way to let her take care of me without crossing a line.

We worked it out that I would bathe first wearing my undergarment then once dry new bandages would be wrapped on. Then clean clothes and back to bed. No excuses, no arguments. This wasn't a good time to get self-conscious, as I was never that way before. Though in the past being without a shirt was fine, but I'd never encountered a situation where I lost my pants.

With help I hobbled to the bathroom. Removing the bandages felt both relaxing and unsettling, a few of my ribs were definitely broken but shifted as the pressure came off. Next came my head wound. Lastly the leg was unwrapped. Sitting on a low stool I tried to wash myself, but Hitomi pushed my fumbling hands away. Insisting that I would just hurt myself more.

Her hands were steady and sure as they carefully cleaned each wound. Only a slight blush showed that she wasn't entirely comfortable with the amount of bare skin or how much of it was being touched by the only girl I've ever truly seen.

All the small cuts and bruises have faded to thin pinkish lines or pale-yellow blotches week of healing not days. Physical proof that I am not quite human. Even the larger injuries shouldn't be closing up at this rate. I shut my eyes as Hitomi lathers my hair, the feeling is soothing. Her fingers are firm as they work the soap into the thick strands. Flashes of memory; wind as I fly through the air, large white wings beating in powerful strokes.

I remember how it felt to have burning pain rip through my back, literally shred the skin as the wings quickly expanded. Not just that I have it back, the childhood stunt where I lept from the palace roof and my small wings were to weak, but my mother's arms were strong as they caught me mid-fall.

That almost takes my breath away. Hitomi must have noticed, because her hands still. "What is it? Did I hurt you?"

"No," I respond opening my eyes and taking her wrists so that I can pull her in-front of me. "I recalled what it feels like to call my wings and all the times I had to use them during the war. Also, I remembered my mother." It went without saying that I also remembered the promise I broke when the world shattered under her feet and saving her became the most important thing, even if it took much longer for me to understand. Hitomi was the first person to see the beauty in my curse. That might have been the moment I first fell in love with her.

"Oh Van," She sighed and the next thing I know her arms are pressing my soapy wet head into her chest. "That's wonderful. It will all come back gradually."

After a moment of tension, I relax into the embrace. Savoring the feel of her in my arms and know that even though my memory still remains broken, the fact I love this girl is something very real I can hold onto.

Over the next few days more of myself seems to trickle back into place, like small drops of water gradually filling an empty bucket. It takes time as everything said it would, but the more I remember the less I can stand sitting still. Waiting to heal takes more patience then I've probably ever possessed.

For her part Hitomi does her best to tend me, when I let her. Weakness comes with my healing wounds, but I reuse to let it show. Stubborn pride she calls it, but by the third day I've already started trying to train again. Whomever hurt me had no mercy and won't when I face them again. I must challenge them even if I still don't recall the reasons why.

It was an almost physical shock to realize my sword was gone, or hadn't followed me to this world. Being without it made me feel almost naked, even more so then the loss of clothing, but as though a part of me was missing. I would have been just as off balance if someone had chopped off my hand and told me to go about normal life.

The crested blade marked me as king, but so much more. I had it when everything else that made me who I was my people and country were ruthlessly stripped away. I held it in my hands when I was desperate, angry, and lost; still it also guided me through some of the darkest times. As though Balgus's strength and my father's wisdom helped me through it all to become the man, the king I was destined to be.

Hitomi's family home carried no proper substitution for the sword for training, but a long metal club she called a baseball bat did the job well enough. The weight was focused in the wrong place, I had to adjust my stance and balance. Regardless of it's faults the bat did make a satisfying sound as it sliced though the air.

"Don't over do it." Hitomi called from the rear of the house, as I moved around the small square back yard.

I didn't respond because I will not lie to her. Anyways my leg was already beginning to throb with the exercise. If I stopped too suddenly it would also make my head swim with dizziness. Of my original injuries those were the only remaining ones that still bothered me. A possible healing miracle for a normal man, but I have never been in danger of being that. Between my mother's blood and my father's royal stature I was born anything but common. The green-eyed girl was the only one to treat me as such, and that has always made her special.

After a bit I took a break, more to prevent her worry then any desire to on my part. An iced glass of barley tea was already waiting on the table made me grateful. I hadn't even realized how thirsty I'd gotten outside in the warm summer sun.

"Thank you," I breathed once I'd gulped down half the contents.

"No problem," Hitomi said, but there was a twinkle in her eye I wasn't quite able to read. It became apparent when I went to return to my work and found the metal cylinder gone.

"Where-" I started turning back to the house only to find Hitomi standing there, her shirt tied up on one side and a hose nozzle in her hand like a weapon. "What are you doing?"

"I think you look a little hot," She smiled with a playful glimmer, one I recognize now as the warning I missed earlier.

"Don't even think about it." My statement should have sounded like an order, but it had the opposite effect. She gave the handle a quick squeeze shooting a stream of cold water in my direction. One that I was barely able to dodge a direct hit, though the edge of spray just caught me in the shoulder.

She laughed at must have been an incredulous look on my face. Before I sputtered out another half-hearted threat, the second blast caught me right in the face. This time Hitomi went silent as if stunned that the attack had worked. I took the opportunity to lunge at her, causing the girl to shriek and run out of reach.

An all-out battle for the water sprayer ensued with much laughter and a very short-lived victory on my part where I was able to get control long enough to drench her in return. It wasn't entirely Hitomi's quickness that forced me to surrender, but the way her soaked shirt clung to every curve as if it were no longer there, the betrayal of my wandering mind was what truly disarmed me.

It wasn't though I let her win after that, but it was inevitable. Chest heaving with laugher she returned to the house for towels that had been set safely just inside the door. Tossing me one the short-haired girl grinned openly.

"I haven't had that much fun in a long time." She began to dry her face first, but unable to ressit any longer I wrapped my section of fluffy white fabric around her chest. Taken aback she sputtered at me. "What is this for?"

My face must have gone red, because she lifted the towel enough to look down at her wet and basically translucent shirt. With a shriek that had nothing to do with my actions the girl darted into the house gripping the cloth around herself. So, I guessed in a way it was a tie, and we both lost.

Without a towel anymore, I did my best not to drip as I walked carefully back to the room where I am staying. It should belong to a boy younger then Merle, but he didn't live here now. Hitomi hadn't said much about her family and their falling out. She didn't need to, I could see the blame the girl placed on herself for the rift.

It's not my place to say anything, but a man doesn't leave his wife because he doesn't believe a story even an other worldly fantasy. No, there are deeper, maybe darker reasons between the split. When Hitomi first told me about the family she missed so much I wasn't jealous but was in awe of this simple uncomplicated life. One that was waiting for her without condition or expectation.

The sad thing about life is that it rarely has a fairytale ending. There wasn't one in my family, or really any in our group. Maybe that desire for something better is what held us together. Rallying around Hitomi and the naïve hopefulness she carried like a banner. Some of her naturally enthusiastic glow should have faded, but that wasn't my Hitomi, she was so very strong.

I wasn't saying that I loved her, because it was expected in return. Or from some feeling of debt built from my need for her care. Truthfully the bond was always between us, even when I didn't know what to call it. There has never been anyone for me but the strange green-eyed girl.

When I return home if she wants to come along it will make me very happy, but I won't ask her to give up the life here. It must be something she wants with her whole heart, not just the part that will miss me.

These musing thoughts distract me while I change from the soaking clothes into a dry set. As soon as I've pulled the new shirt over my damp hair there is a knock on the door.

"Come in," I called knowing it could only be Hitomi. She entered wearing a new outfit of shorts and layered tank-tops, along with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"Hey," She started, and I recognized that an apology was coming next.

"That was fun, but next time I'll win for sure." The distraction worked even forced as it was. The shyness in her posture faded.

"I don't know about that." Playfulness had return and she stood in a defiant stance one hand propped on her hip. Both of us were actively avoiding the conversation of what I saw through the soaked fabric. Her expression turned thoughtful. "That might have been the first time I've ever seen you act your age. It was nice."

She was right of course. From birth I was never treated as a normal child. Tutors, training, and even my bedtime stories told of valiant knights slaying terrible dragons. To another boy that might have been just a tale of chivalry, but for me it was as though the earlier I was prepared the better off I would be. Diplomacy, history, economy structure, resource management, sword fighting, archery, etiquette, and even dancing; these were just a few of my lessons. All of which became more stringent the moment I became next in line to be king.

Other boys even those of high standings had time to go riding that had nothing to do with training or surveying the local tenets. They attended social functions where every well-connected girl wasn't potentially the next queen. Everyone wasn't a subject to them, and they were able to develop normal friendships, even ones only within the same class. I was not. It seemed like everyone always wanted something from me.

The memories come easier now, though not all the missing spaces are filled in yet. My strict upbringing taught me that arrogance was a better response then fear. So, when I met a girl who saved my life I wasn't grateful for her interference, because she had to want something in return. People only looked out for themselves and sought what I could do for them before anything else. She was different, Hitomi didn't see the world like I did.

War didn't leave her untouched, but even now there is true uncomplicated goodness in her. Not that I'd ever recommend being beaten and hit over the head this was a chance that I never expected to have. One to not be the king of Fanelia, but Van, just Van. Maybe it was selfish, then again, I'd thought the only time I'd see Hitomi we'd both be older.

She should have returned to me not the other way around. I looked at her now and only wanted one thing, first I needed to see if she felt the same.

"Would you want me to court you?" Though in this situation I could never truly do things properly, I have no gifts to give and showing her around the kingdom is also impossible. "I don't know how it is done here, but I'd like to try."

She smiled and it was a brilliant beautiful thing that almost took my breath away. "Van, are you asking me out?"

The term was unfamiliar, but the meaning I understood. "Isn't that what I said?"

"Well it helps if you say the words as a request." Her small amused expression made me want to do something impulsive like kiss her.

"Hitomi, will you go out with me with marriage in mind?" Maybe I went to far adding the last part, because she didn't respond right away. Second guessing myself my mind started trying to find a way to fix the blunder without getting slapped, again.

Before I could put my food in my mouth, which was bound to happen. Hitomi's hand came up, and one slender finger pressed to my lips.

"Don't blow a gasket Van. My answer is Yes," She paused knowing that I probably needed a moment to stop my head from spinning off into space. Her hand dropping from my mouth to take my hand in her much softer one, now that the danger had passed. "Under a few conditions. We take this slow and remember that wedding bells are still a long way down the road."

I nod taking a deep breath, letting her continue. "We still don't know everything that happened. So, lets take this one step at a time." At that she threw a towel over my still dripping hair and took off.

It was easy to agree with her, even if I didn't know what the next step would be. We'd already confirmed our feelings so that hard part was already done. Or it should be. I haven't courted anyone before, and to be honest I never thought I'd have to. Before I met Hitomi it was understood, but unsaid that my romantic future would be political in nature. Therefor it would have little to do with what or who I'd want.

It was hard to me to understand my growing feelings for the strange green-eyed girl. Denial was a large part of it, but in many ways I am still more sheltered then she. In this world I can rely on her to take the lead. A commitment means something different on our worlds and part of that means her leaving everything behind. So, we will do this her way for now. One day the roles will be reversed.

With my healing body and fractured mind taken into account, it was decided that we go for a walk in town. For the most part I would have been just as happy to stay here with her, but between waking up with her this morning and the wet clothing incident still fresh in my mind, being alone together was far more dangerous.

There was a heated debate about my refusal to use crutches, though I was already a bit sore from training it wouldn't slow me down. The clothes she'd chosen for me fit well enough but felt strange. Like by putting them on I was stepping into someone else's life. One where a normal boy and the girl he fancied could walk hand in hand without pressure or expectations. Maybe all this was old-fashioned, but it was part of who I am, and Hitomi didn't seem to mind.

She chatted happily as we walked. I listened to everything, just taking in the way sun light ringed her short-hair in gold like a shimmering halo. How the excitement made her eyes glow like large emeralds. I didn't need tell her how beautiful she was to me, the words weren't necessary, not in this moment. Instead I reached out first and took her hand in mine. She stopped walking just long enough to twine our fingers, and it didn't matter if my palm was sweeting.

As strange as Hitomi must have found Gaia as strange as I found her world. It was nice to know that I wasn't going crazy for not knowing what things were. I never questioned the small box she carried with her on our journey, or how it worked. So, it didn't seem right to worry about all the things I didn't understand now. Just grateful for the chance to be here, with her, like this.

"Hitomi!" A girl's voice called out in sudden recognition on the street.

I started to let go of her hand, but she gave mine a little squeeze in return holding on. We turned together to find a vaguely familiar face framed by deep reddish hair.

"Yukari, what a surprise." She stated greeting her closest friend cheerfully. Then with a glowing smile turned towards me. "I'm actually glad to have run into you. There is someone I'd like to officially introduce you to."

I gave a small nod before turning back to her friend. This meant a lot, for the people in her life to know me. That way when she did return to Gaia for good they would know that she was safe, with me. I recognized the other girl, Yukari, more now. She was the one who tripped running from the dragon upon our first meeting. She was also there the night I flew Escaflowne to retrieve Hitomi.

It seems she was remembering those times as well, because her brown eyes narrowed in response. "You," She said with a slightly unfriendly note in her voice.

Sensing her friend's dislike Hitomi leaned into my side as a sign of our shared feelings. "This is Van Fanel, and he's the one that I was with the entire time I was gone."

"He took you there." Yukari spat reminding me so much of someone else, maybe Merle, but thinking about it made my head throb.

"No," Hitomi soothed smoothly. "That's not how it happened at all. I don't know if it was an accident or if going there was destiny."

"But I'd be dead several times over if it weren't for Hitomi." I finished turning my attention back to the seer at my side. To me it didn't really matter what this friend thought of me, but it was important to her.

"Van, protected me too." The slight blush dusting her cheeks spoke louder then the simple words. "He's the one that I told you so much about."

The red-haired girl relaxed visibly, as if remembering more of what she'd heard from her friend and less of the assumption I was blamed for. After that we went into a shop that sold tea and cakes. The girls talked and I mostly listened though did contribute when directly questioned.

The whole atmosphere of the place was new and strange for me. There might have been places like this back on my world, but I'd never had the chance to be out in public like this, anonymous. Taking time out of your day to chat, eat sweets, and drink tea prepared by someone else; well it was something people like Millearna did. Here it seemed like everyone was excepted regardless of status. To think that the average populace had this kind of spare time and money for such luxury was surprising.

It was nice to see this side of Hitomi. True she's always shown a warmth that drew people in, an open acceptance regardless of factors that others would instantly judge on. Things that separated me from the rest of the world for far too long. By the end of our conversation her friend had warmed up to me and I'd heard a few new stories of the green-eyed girl that just made me love her more.

Right before we went our separate ways the new girl stopped us.

"Wait second," She called out to Hitomi. "I've had the song you used to whistle stuck in my head lately but can't remember how it ends." Then put her lips together and started a slow almost haunting tune. At the first notes a sharp pain shot through my head like an icepick. With the sudden pressure came images, ones I had yet to see since waking up on this world. A tall man with spiked light blueish hair, broad shoulder, and black wings.

The solemn almost peaceful way he whistled the Fanelian Lullaby, even though he helped destroy the land it came from. A sense of loss put on hold, and a need to set things right that led to a desolate city filled with green chocking smog. Finding not a casket, but his gaunt face floating in a cylinder full of sinister glowing liquid.

Hitomi's bright worries eyes swam into focus as she said my name over and over again. I grasped her hands hard enough to make her wince, not knowing my own strength in lingering memories.

"Folken isn't dead," I gasped out putting the pieces together. Her horrified expression doesn't cover half of what I'm feeling. The story tumbles out in a disorganized stream. "I needed to set his body to rest with our father, so I went back to Zaibach. They've kept him alive to run horrible tests on, trying to create more Draconians."

Bile rose in my throat, but I had to finish the story now that I knew what it was. "I had to get Folken out or if not kill him myself. Brother wouldn't want to exist like that, but they caught me." I refused to let them take me alive and did my best to take as many of their scientist and soldiers down with me. That was when someone hit me over the back of the head, and everything went dark. The next thing I knew was darkness and Hitomi calling out to me.

This little respite had been nice, but now that my memory had returned. I can't leave him there with those twisted people. I may not have forgiven Folken for his choices, but he is my only family and I know he'd come for me if I were in his place.

It was time to save him or die trying.

 **To be continued…**

 **A/N- I'm sorry to leave you like that, but it was always going there. We got to see a little more between Hitomi and Van before the story returned to a darker theme. I don't have a whole lot to say. Nothing that would change things. I have prepared myself for the yelling.**


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